Defenses:

The Defiant-class starship, officially an escort vessel, began development around 2366 as a small, highly-powered, heavily-armed warship intended to defend the United Federation of Planets against the Borg. The USS Defiant (NX-74205) was the prototype of what was to be a new Federation battle fleet. However, the ship had numerous design problems that were made apparent during its shakedown cruise. These flaws, combined with the decreased urgency of the Borg threat, caused Starfleet to table its plans for a battle fleet and put the Defiant in storage.

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The Defiant-class starship was a heavily-armed, limited-role Starfleet vessel, a warship, the first Starfleet ever truly designed. It was developed in response to the Borg threat as originally encountered in 2365, After initial and hostile first contact with the Borg, Starfleet did what it hadn't done in decades, place greater emphasis on Starfleet's essential role in the defense of the Federation. Drafting plans for such a defense required a starship(s) capable of fighting against the Borg. Further verified after the Federations devastating defeat in the Battle of Wolf 359 in 2367 losing nearly 40 ships and 11,000 personnel to a just a single Borg vessel proved Federation was horribly unprepared. With the knowledge that existing weaponry and defenses would be inadequate to meet this threat, it was recognized that a new type of starship was needed to meet the tactical requirements of facing this superior enemy. Shortly after the massacre at Wolf 359 in 2367, Lieutenant CommanderBenjamin Sisko joined the development team at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards. (DS9: "The Search, Part I")

The USS Defiant was the class prototype. It was Starfleet's first dedicated combat vessel, and therefore typical luxuries and provisions for families or diplomatic missions were forsaken. Also its science labs or recreational facilities were extremely limited. It was the first and only Federation vessel to be equipped with a Romulancloaking device. The Defiant-class was heavily armored and incorporated the latest in Starfleet weaponry and defensive technology and was equipped with a class-7 warp drive. The Defiant was considerably smaller than most other Federation starships. (DS9: "The Search, Part I")

The prototype Defiant performed poorly on its trial runs. The vessel was overpowered and over-gunned for a ship of its size – so much so that the Defiant nearly shook itself apart when the engines were tested at full power. These design flaws, combined with the decreased urgency of the Borg threat, led Starfleet to abandon the project and place the prototype in storage. (DS9: "The Search, Part I")

Starfleet eventually decided to put the Defiant-class into full production. By the end of 2373, there were a significant number of Defiant-class ships in operation, and over the next two years they played a vital role in the Dominion War. (DS9 Season 7; VOY: "Message in a Bottle", "Endgame")

Commenting on the appearance of additional Defiant-class ships appearing in "A Call to Arms", Ronald D. Moore said, "We just decided that the Fed was now cranking out Defiant-class vessels based on Sisko's recommendations to SF Command." (AOL chat,1997)

In 2373, the USS Defiant was given a chance to do what it had been designed for when it participated in the Battle of Sector 001, where a Federation fleet engaged a single Borg cube on its way to assimilate Earth. As the cube approached Earth, the Defiant, under the command of Lieutenant CommanderWorf, was disabled by a tractor beam strike after having sustained massive battle damage. With the ship's main power and defensive systems offline, Worf prepared to ram it into the Borg cube when the USS Enterprise arrived to assist the tattered Federation fleet. As the Enterprise entered the battle, the Defiant lost life support after sustaining another hit from the Borg tractor beam, and the survivors were transported onboard the Enterprise. Shortly after the Borg cube was destroyed, CaptainPicard noted that the Defiant, despite being adrift, was salvageable. (Star Trek: First Contact)

The USS Defiant was destroyed by a Breen warship in 2375, during the Second Battle of Chin'toka. Another Defiant-class ship, the USS Sao Paulo, was then assigned to Deep Space 9. Given the USS Defiant's exceptional record under Captain Benjamin Sisko's command, the Chief of Starfleet Operations gave a special dispensation to change the ship's name to Defiant. On this ship, the shield generators were completely reconfigured so that they would not be affected by the Breen's energy-dampening weapon. However unlike the original Defiant, this ship was not equipped with a cloaking device. This new Defiant played a distinguished role in the final battle with the Dominion at Cardassia Prime, and remained stationed at Deep Space 9 by the start of 2376. (DS9: "The Changing Face of Evil", "The Dogs of War", "What You Leave Behind")

The Defiant-class vessels' deflector arrays could also be refitted into a makeshift phaser emitter, providing one-shot capability in extreme emergency. The phaser emission was generated by the nose/deflector unit. (DS9: "Starship Down")

It was never made clear whether the ablative armor was ever added to the official Starfleet Defiant-class specification. As late as 2372, Starfleet Operations had not been informed that the Defiant had been so equipped. (DS9: "Paradise Lost")

The Romulans loaned and allowed the limited supervised use of at least one cloaking device. Operation of the cloaking device was to be limited to the Gamma Quadrant and in return, the Federation provided the Romulans any and all intelligence collected in the Gamma Quadrant and about the Dominion. (DS9: "The Search, Part I", "Visionary") The USS Defiant was the only Federation ship to be seen regularly operating a cloaking device.

It is of note that soon after the cloaking device was brought into use, the Dominion developed a way to penetrate the cloak using certain types of antiproton beams. The Defiant was especially vulnerable as the power of the warp engines in relation to the size of the ship led to a high power signature that wasn't fully masked by the cloaking device. It did however, at times provide a significant tactical advantage that was exploited on numerous occasions. (DS9: "The Search, Part I") This issue was later resolved, indicating that a modification was developed to defeat this detection method.

After the Defiant was destroyed by the Breen, her replacement, the former USS Sao Paulo, was not equipped with a new cloaking device. (DS9: "The Dogs of War")

The bridge in 2373, after having undergone a partial redesign later in 2371

The bridge of the second USSDefiant, featuring different furnishing and a new aft console

The bridge layout of the Defiant was compact, but nonetheless accommodated the familiar engineering, tactical, science, conn, and ops stations.

The main bridge acted as the nerve center of the vessel, and the entire module was sunken into a much larger deck 1 than on most Federation starships to provide added protection during combat situations. Access to the bridge was provided by two doorways at the back, located on both port and starboard sides. Just forward of the starboard entryway was the location of the ship's dedication plaque, as well as an auxiliary computer access panel.

The port side of the bridge housed the engineering and tactical I stations, while the starboard side featured the science and tactical II consoles. Because of its nearly exclusive role as a combat vessel, stations aboard Defiant-class vessels were designed with speed in mind.

The center of the bridge featured the lone captain's chair, which was on a raised platform and had a clear view of all bridge stations, as well as of the main viewscreen. On both sides of the command chair were separate control panels, allowing the occupant access to virtually every system aboard the ship.

Between the command chair and the viewscreen was an integrated flight control and operations panel, capable of performing the joint duties of those stations' larger counterparts on other Federation starships. Like all of the bridge stations on Defiant, the conn had been designed for maximum speed and efficiency of commands input by the operator, allowing the craft to be handled almost like a fighter when under the hands of a skilled pilot.

The engineering station allowed for a direct link to the impulse and warp engines, as well as monitoring of the other various systems vital to the operation of the ship. This single station was capable of mirroring all the readouts and consoles located in main engineering, allowing the chief engineer or another engineering officer to issue commands from the bridge.

Mirroring the engineering station on the port side of the bridge was the science station. Normally occupied by the ship's chief science officer, the panels and readouts on this station allowed direct access to the ship's sensor systems. Capable of taking high resolution scans of both natural and artificial phenomena, this station played a vital role during reconnaissance missions.

Flanking both sides of the viewscreen were two tactical stations, which had primary access to the ship's powerful phaser cannons, torpedo launchers and various other special ordinance packages. Working closely with conn, the officers stationed at these consoles were responsible for firing the various weapons aboard Defiant-class vessels during combat operations. The purpose of the tactical II station was to lighten the load on its sister station, particularly in battle.

Some time after the commission of the Defiant-class in 2371, various aspects of the bridge were redesigned. The captain's chair area was redone to remove the fencing and add new consoles, the dedication plaque was moved to the starboard door area, and additional consoles were added to the side stations and the rear wall. (DS9: "Equilibrium")

Some time in 2373, Starfleet vessels were fitted with new holocommunicator technology. A holographic projector on the bridge could create a holographic simulation of the communique. (DS9: "For the Uniform") This technology was only briefly in service, as it proved inefficient and had minimal advantages compared to communicating via viewscreen.

The main sickbay was located on deck 2 between the mess deck and science labs. Containing four biobeds, this room served as the primary crew support facility during emergency situations. The room was equipped with limited surgical facilities and was primarily intended to stabilize patients until they could be delivered to a nearby friendly starbase medical facility.

In its limited role as a reconnaissance starship, the Defiant-class was equipped with two dedicated science and medical labs for field testing and investigations. These rooms mirrored their counterparts on larger Federation starships by making use of scaled down devices that could commonly be found on those ships. (DS9: "Broken Link")

Main engineering on the Defiant-class was situated on deck 1 with the lower section on deck 2. The Master Situation Monitor was located in the starboard wall bulkhead. The warp core was placed on an elevated platform in the center of the compartment, opposite the control consoles. Ships of the Defiant-class were equipped with a class-7 warp drive.

Each cabin was equipped with one replicator port and one standard computer terminal. Overall, crew quarters aboard Defiant-class vessels were the most austere when compared to other ships in the fleet.

With emphasis towards the tactical systems being the foremost priority in the vessel designers' minds, crewmembers had to share their quarters with at least one other crewmate during normal times of operation. To this end, standard crew quarters had two stacking bunks fitted into the walls of each cabin. Only the ship's commanding officer was given his own room on deck 1, which doubled as an informal ready room.

Ships of the Defiant-class lacked any sort of recreational facilities, and the only place for informal gathering were the two mess deck areas located on the port side of deck 2. Like all the equipment and materials aboard the ship, the mess deck was compact and functional. At the head of the room were three open slots that served as dispensers for the replicators. A counter extended from the underside and was used for the placement of trays, mugs and eating utensils. Seating inside the mess deck was provided by four metallic tables arranged in a semicircle at the wider end of the room. These tables were approximately one meter square, and each had four stools connected to its legs. In addition, the mess deck doubled as a makeshift meeting area that could be used to conduct crew briefings and mission profiles. A tall screen panel located on one of the walls could be used as a visual aid to display tactical graphics. (DS9: "Valiant")

In the final draft script for "The Search", the physical appearance of the Defiant-class was initially described thus; "The ship should look a little clunky compared to other Federation vessels we've seen – this ship was built primarily for battle, not exploration or science." [1]

According to Martin, the initial instruction for the designers was that it was a "beefy runabout." His initial designs based upon this guideline, however, were not accepted by the producers. Martin next turned to more traditional starship designs, but Zimmerman told him that a completely new look was needed, like nothing ever seen on Star Trek before.

Ultimately, Martin went to a design he had done for a Maquis fighter for the episode "The Maquis, Part II", and he brought it to the producers, who approved it as the basis for the Defiant-class. After tweaking the design a little, Martin gave the schematic to model maker Tony Meininger who, along with his Brazil Fabrications, was given the nod to bring the design to life.

The main problem with the design at that stage was that it didn't look fast enough, so Meininger, a car enthusiast, got some posters of Ferraris and used them to help him design the "streamlined" look of the ship, making it very compact and sleek.

For DS9, a digital model of the Defiant was built by Digital Muse, which was then borrowed by the visual effects artists of Star Trek: Voyager, as and when required. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 80) A CGI Defiant was also used in DS9's title sequence.

According to Hutzel, during the early development stages of the ship, the Defiant was to be "a new hot battleship that would really set a new standard for an action ship in the series. First, there was lots of talk like 'How big is the Defiant?' Well, we'll make it really small and really powerful, that it would be so powerful and scary, nobody would mess with it." (USS Defiant, DS9 Season 3 DVD special features)

According to Doug Drexler, "The size of the Defiant was a hot potato from day one. Rick Berman wanted a small pocket battleship (a couple times longer than a runabout, with the girth of a regular starship), Gary wanted at least 500' [152.4 m]." [5](X)

The original MSD that appeared in "The Search, Part I" actually depicted an early concept design and did not represent the final product. It was later replaced with an accurate MSD in such episodes as "Shattered Mirror", although it was used on displays until the end of Deep Space Nine. Drexler, who was responsible for creating the ship's MSD, rationalized "a 420′ [128.0 m] Defiant." [6](X)

For further analysis on the Defiant's scaling, visit the "Defiant Problems" link at Ex Astris Scientia below.

Initial drawings described the class as the Valiant-class. Indeed, Drexler even constructed an initial dedication plaque for the Defiant that referred to it as the "Valiant-class," before a new plaque was recreated that simply stated "the first ship of her class." The plaque was later given to Rob Bonchune. [7]Bruce Branit also once referred to the class as "the Valiant-class." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 64)

According to regular background performer Brian Demonbreun, there were special carpets transferred onto the "normally" seen carpet of the Defiant in scenes including explosions and sparks. All actors, mostly the background performers, who were near those sparks were made wet, with a light moisture film on their hair and uniform.(citation needed • edit)

When it came time to film DS9 Season 3 premiere "The Search, Part I", the relatively small set used as the Defiant challenged the production crew, who had transferred to DS9 from TNG. (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p. 82) They began to find design flaws as soon as they started filming on the new set. "Initially, it was very hard to shoot in the Defiant set," confirmed Director Kim Friedman. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 163) David Livingston added that this was "because we hadn't been in there a lot, and it's cramped; any time you shake the camera or move the camera it takes a lot more time." (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p. 82) With the floor of the Defiant's bridge including a central raised platform under the command chair and a frontal raised platform beneath the helmsman's station, the filming workers discovered the bridge, whose layout was permanent, didn't allow for sufficient room to lay a dolly track, which restricted the camera movements. The tight physical restrictions influenced Friedman to watch old World War II films involving "people sitting in cockpits," in an effort to increase her familiarity with methods employed when shooting in constrained places. Another issue was that, since the cloaking device was initially only meant to be used during the "The Search" two-parter, the set was not made with variable lighting; all the light bulbs had to be manually changed (by stopping filming) whenever the cloak was used. When the cloak was kept, this made filming nightmarish and reshoots an exercise in hurry up and wait. Subsequent alterations to the Defiant bridge set made it a lot easier to film in. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 163)

The same sets were used for both the Defiant and the Valiant. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 572) However, these interiors were intentionally not used for the USS Bellerophon in DS9: "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges" (which instead became an Intrepid-class ship, permitting the use of the standing sets for Star Trek: Voyager). "We could have reused the Defiant sets once again [as in "Valiant"], saying the Bellerophon was a Defiant-class ship, but I didn't want to," Ron Moore recalled. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 662) Elaborating on why he opted not to reuse the Defiant-class sets for the Bellerophon, Moore critiqued, "It's always a little bit of a push with the audience when you are doing that, because they know what you are doing. They know you are just using the same sets again, and it gets a little boring." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 32, Nos. 4/5, p. 76)

The notched forward hull containing the vessel's navigational deflector and main sensors was a detachable single-use last-resort missile. This missile was equipped with a small impulse engine and a magazine with six torpedo warheads. These torpedo warheads were part of the ship's auto-destruct system and under more normal circumstances could be fired from the forward launcher. Any torpedo warheads left in the magazine would become the missile's warhead upon the missile's separation from the rest of the ship. If no torpedo warheads remained, then the missile would have to rely on kinetic energy alone. The ship would be unable to travel at high warp speeds without the missile since the latter contained the ship's navigational deflector.

During the mission "Ambush" in the game Star Trek: Legacy, the USS Defiant was sent to the Etarian Nebula for a test flight of its systems, where the crew found that the Romulans had invaded the nebula waiting for a fugitive. The USS Enterprise-D was sent to rescue the Defiant with three other starships and to neutralize any Romulan threat remaining.

The William Shatner series of novels featured another Defiant-class vessel, the USS Monitor. The Monitor boasted several modifications from a standard Defiant-class starship, such a cloaking device and black sensor reflective hull plating. Its warp engines were tuned so the nacelles would emit ultraviolet light instead of the standard red and blue, and the ship had no running lights or hull markings. In Shatner's novel The Return, the Monitor is temporarily renamed Enterprise during a mission to the Borg homeworld using a stolen transwarp drive, commanded by Captains Kirk, Picard, and Spock.

Star Trek Online has Defiant-class vessels available for characters who reach Captain rank or higher as a Tier 4 "Tactical" Escort or Tier 5 "Tactical Escort Retrofit" (the difference being that the Tier 5 variants come equipped with cloaking devices). Other Tier 4 escorts are meant as late 24th and early 25th descendants of the Defiant class, sharing its basic profile – these include the Vigilant class and Gallant class Tactical Escorts. It also has a refit version called the Sao Paulo-class "Tactical Escort Refit" with quad phaser cannons. The game features two NPC Defiant-class starships, the USS Defiant and the USS Belfast.